The popular low-dose diet pill Alli marketed under GlaxoSmithKline will soon be made available for purchase without a doctor's prescription, making it the first weight-loss medication to be sold here over the counter, local media reported yesterday.

The Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs under the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reviewed the safety measures of the drug and should things go according to plan, Alli will soon be available in pharmacies nationwide.

But Liu Li-ling, the deputy chief of the bureau, warned that Alli is still a drug and residents should still take precautions and abide by the medication instruction leaflet that is provided with the pills.

Nations such as the United States, Europe and Japan have already seen the proliferation of the use of this drug, Liu said.

She stressed the importance of the pharmaceutical company in providing an easy-to-read leaflet that clearly delineates the possible side effects of the drug and for pharmacists to properly explain the uses of the drug.

Huang Guo-jin, a physician with the Department of Family Medicine at the National Taiwan University Hospital, said that Alli is based on the same ingredient, Orlistat, as the stronger diet pill Xenical but carries half the dosage.

Alli is usually taken following a meal, and allegedly works to block part of the fat in the food eaten in the meal.

Huang warned that since patent protection of Orlistat has ended, many local pharmaceutical companies will be quick to exploit the drug and develop generic formulations. He advised residents to be more wary when purchasing diet pills and to ensure that packages carry the certification and approval stamp of the bureau.

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